Protein Industries Canada has announced that founding CEO Bill Gruelle is leaving the organization to focus on growing Canada’s plant-based protein industry.
Gruelle, who has been with the organization since October 2018, has accepted the position of Deputy Minister of Agriculture with the Government of Saskatchewan. Her last day with Protein Industries Canada will be July 31, 2024.
“Bill has provided strong leadership to Protein Industries Canada and has been a major contributor to our success to date,” said Tyler Groeneveld, PIC’s board chairman. “Under his leadership, the company has grown from one employee to 26 and now manages more than $500 million in investments. We are grateful for Bill’s leadership and wish him the best in his new role.”
The board plans to announce the appointment of an interim CEO in the coming weeks. The search for a permanent CEO is ongoing. An executive search firm will be retained to assist with the search effort, and the board says it is working expeditiously to appoint a permanent CEO as soon as possible.
The board also announced the departure of Chief Technology Officer Megan Gervais. Gervais has been with Protein Industries Canada since spring 2019 and will serve as CTO since May 2022, having previously served as manager of intellectual property. Gervais has accepted the position of vice president, health, safety and compliance for Federated Corp Limited. Gervais’ last day will be July 31, 2024. The CTO job will be handled internally in the short term.
Founded in 2018, Protein Industries Canada is one of the federal government’s five Global Innovation Clusters. Since its inception, 455 IP assets have been created through the cluster through its projects.
